F Club
| Owner | John Keenan |
|---|---|
| Type | Club-night |
| Genre(s) | |
| Opened | 1977 |
| Closed | 1982 |
The F Club was a punk rock, post-punk and new wave club night in Leeds that ran between 1977 and 1982. The venue hosted early performances by local bands including the Sisters of Mercy, Soft Cell, Gang of Four and New Model Army, as well as touring acts Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and the Cure. It largely established the post-punk scene of Leeds, and was foundational to the beginning and popularisation of gothic rock and the goth subculture. Beginning as the Stars of Today in a common room in Leeds Polytechnic in the summer of 1977, it was held at various venues across the city during its tenure, which also included the Ace of Clubs and Roots. After moving to Brannigan's in 1978, it changed its name to the Fan Club.
History
[edit]
The club night began in the summer of 1977 under the name the Stars of Today. Founded by John Keenan, Graham Cardy and Shaun Cavell, the night originally was hosted in an available commonroom in Leeds Polytechnic.[1] While here, it hosted performances by acts such as the Slits, XTC and Slaughter & the Dogs.[2]
When the summer ended, the University did not wish for the night to continue leading to it relocating to the Ace of Clubs in Woodhouse. Here, the club changed its name to the F Club in reference to how to the flyer for the final event at the University read "Let's get the 'F' out of here". In order to keep the attendees through this move, the club introduced a £1 membership scheme, where members would be admitted for cheaper.[3][2] While here, the night was host to groups such as X-Ray Spex, Wayne County & the Electric Chairs, Sham 69,[4] and early performances by the Mekons and Gang of Four.[2] In 1978, it moved once again to Roots in Chapeltown,[5] where it hosted Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division and Rich Kids.[6]
In August 1978, it relocated to the basement of Brannigan's on the corner of Call Lane and Lower Briggate. With this move it changed its name to the Fan Club, due to a leaflet by the Leveller claiming the "F" stood for "fascist".[3][2][7] Here it hosted the Cure.[8] It was while the club was based in Brannigan's that Andrew Eldritch and Gary Marx first met, soon going on to be the founding lineup of the Sisters of Mercy. In 1981, the March Violets played their first performance at the venue, followed by the Sisters of Mercy's first performance. Bands such as Soft Cell,[9] New Model Army, the Danse Society, Skeletal Family and Southern Death Cult also formed at the club during this period.[8] In 1982, the club closed.[10][11]
Legacy
[edit]In Karl and Beverley Spracklen's book The Evolution of Goth Culture it was described as the space "where gothic rock was born in the form it is now".[8] The club was foundational in the emergence of the goth subculture and led to other high profile clubs in the scene, such as the Batcave.[12] It was frequented by members of many influential post-punk and gothic rock groups such as the Sisters of Mercy,[13] the Mekons,[14] Gang of Four,[15] the March Violets, New Model Army and Southern Death Cult.[8]
Siouxsie and the Banshees' performance at the F Club on 6 December 1977 and Joy Division's performances on 27 July 1978 and October 20 1978, were credited by John Robb in his book The Art of Darkness (2023) as largely inspiring Leeds' post-punk and gothic rock scene, inspiring the Sisters of Mercy and Salvation, as well as Craig Adams and Dave Wolfenden first band the Expelairs.[16] Robb also credited Joy Division's October 20 1978 performance at the club as helping to popularise the name "gothic rock", due to journalist Des Moines describing the band as "gothic dance music".[17]
On the third and fourth of October 2007, the New Roscoe hosted thirtieth anniversary performance for the club.[10] On 12 October 2012, the Brudenell Social Club hosted 35th anniversary concert headlined by Penetration with support from Expelaires and Knife Edge reforming for the occasion. On 18 August 2018, the Brudenell Social Club hosted forty-first anniversary reunion show for the former members of the club.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ Butt, Gavin (2022). No machos or pop stars: when the Leeds art experiment went punk. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 9781478023234.
The Stars of Today club, held at the Polytechnic Common Room over the summer months of 1977, set the template. Established by Graham Cardy, a member of Leeds band Mirror Boys, Polytechnic fine art student Shaun Cavell (later known as Sean Cassette), and soon-to-be legendary promoter John Keenan, Stars of Today set out to promote, and provide a stage for, "new wave" music and bands... In its short run it presented gigs by national and international bands including the Vibrators, Wayne County and the Electric Chairs, and the Slits, as well as local bands s.o.s., Severed Head and the Neck Fuckers, Mirror Boys, and Cheap and Nasty (the latter featuring the first ever stage appearance by Marc Almond at a gig as the band's go-go boy)...The F Club, the more renowned and longer-running successor to Stars of Today beginning in 1977 and continuing into the 1980s, provided a stage for many punk, post-punk, and (in the 1980s) goth bands that otherwise wouldn't have found such a ready place to play. Across various venues over the course of its existence it hosted gigs by Penetration, X-Ray Spex, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magazine, Big in Japan, and Cyanide.
- ^ a b c d "Come As You Are – John Keenan & Dave Baguley". Archived from the original on 3 December 2019. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ a b Liggins, Len (June 2023). "John Keenan interview". Roar Magazine.
The beginnings of the club were in the summer of 1977. I had already promoted a few shows at Wakefield Unity Hall (The Heartbreakers / The Vibrators etc.) and at Leeds Poly. A friend of mine, Graham Cardy, had managed to gain hold of the Poly Common Room, in the Arts block. He asked me to come in with him and promote some gigs, as he didn't have any money, I booked the main bands and he added the supports, including a couple of times, his own band The Mirror Boys. Under the banner, 'Stars of Today', I booked The Slits, XTC, The Police, Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds, The Vibrators, The Spitfire Boys and a few more. We had a great crowd, students mixing with townies, but all with similar ideals. I wouldn't say it was a punk club, the music was splitting in all directions, and there were some interesting people attending gigs, talented misfits, but always with character... When the summer break came to an end, the Poly Committee told us to vacate the premises. – I really wanted to keep the group of regulars we had all together, so came up with the idea of a club, £1 to join but with discounts for members. The name came to me in a flash, I wrote a flyer to distribute at the last gig with all the details and finished it with the words: "Let's get the "F" out of here".
The DJ, Sean, and Graham didn't come with me on the move to The Ace of Clubs, but Claire Shearsby did, she was an integral part of the club until the end... In reality, the club only lasted 9 months under that name. A far left-wing magazine, The Leveller, had printed a story stating that the "F" stood for "Fascist". I promoted The F Club first at The Ace of Clubs, (a former Cabaret club) and next at Roots in Chapeltown, run by a friend of mine, Carl Young. When I moved it to Brannigans in the Autumn of 1978, I renamed it, The FAN Club, but people still refer to it as The F Club to this day. - ^ "46 YEARS OF JFK". Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ Jones, Jane Hector. "From the F club to Go4 to proto Goth : Post punk Leeds : and in depth look at how punk impacted on the city". Retrieved 4 May 2023.
- ^ "46 YEARS OF JFK". Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ Andrews, Mark. "Life Before Alice: Andrew Eldritch, Leeds & The Birth of The Sisters of Mercy". The Quietus. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ a b c d Spracklen, Karl; Spracklen, Beverley. The Evolution of Goth Culture: The Origins and Deeds of the New Goths. p. 46.
- ^ Electronic Sound. 2015. p. 13.
- ^ a b "What the F....!!". BBC. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ Issitt, Micah. Goths: A Guide to an American Subculture. pp. xix.
- ^ Ripped, torn and cut: Pop, politics and punk fanzines from 1976. 2018.
- ^ Searle, Maddy. "40 years of Soft Cell - and 5 other Leeds bands worth celebrating". i. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ Forrest, Ben. "The Mekons: the raucous world of Leeds' first punk band". Retrieved 19 January 2025.
- ^ Simpson, Dave. "Pubs, disco and fighting Nazis: how Leeds nurtured British post-punk". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
- ^ Robb, John (23 March 2023). The Art of Darkness: The History Of Goth. Louder Than War Books. p. 350.
The Siouxsie and the Banshees gig at the F club on 6 December 1977 was a signpost for the new local sensibility but it was the visit of a young group from Manchester that would make the real difference... the night Joy Division came to town and electrified a tiny audience at the F Club at Roots in Chapeltown on 27 July 1978. The importance of this singular gig and their follow-up show on Oct 20 1978, in sparking something in Leeds, cannot be exaggerated. "Joy Division showed us a different way... I will never forget the look on everyone's faces after... Andy Taylor/Eldritch was one of them, Danny from Salvation another, and two members of the new Leeds band, The Expelaires. The effect of those gigs was immediate.
- ^ Robb, John (23 March 2023). The Art of Darkness: The History Of Goth. Louder Than War Books. p. 132.
On 15 September 1978, Tony Wilson got in on the act when he described the new signing to his Factory label, Joy Division, as "gothic". The term now had traction, and five weeks later, a live review of Joy Division at the F Club in Leeds by music writer, Des Moines, in the leading music pap
- ^ "The F Club Reunion Show". Retrieved 30 November 2019.